he sometimes is asleep ; but God is a Fa- ther that never sleeps. Ps. cxxi. 4., lie neither sluinberelli nor sleej)elh. — 7. He thinks nothinc^ too good t() part witli to his chihlren: he gives them the kidneys of the AN heat, and honey out of" the rock, and '* Wine on the lees well-refined," Isa. xxv. 6. He gives them three jewels more worth than heaven, the blood oi' his Son, the grace of his Spirit, the light of his countenance. Never was there such an iiidiil<:ent, affec- tionate Father. — 8. If (iod luith one love better than another, he bestows it upon them; they have the cream and quintessence of his love : " he will rejoice over thee, he will rest in his love," Zeph. iii. IT. God loves his children with such a love as he loves Christ, John xvii. 26. It is the same love, for the unchangeableness of it ; God will no more cease to love his adopted sons, than he will to love his natural Son,
3. If (iod be our Father, he will be full of sympathy, Ps. ciii. 13., " As a father ])itielh his children, so the Lord pitieth fiu-m that fear him," Jer. xxxi. 20., " Is Fohraim my dear son ? my bowels are trou- V.lc'd f<»r him." God pities his children in two cases ; \st. In case of infirmities; 2d. Injuries.
(I.) In case of infirmities. If the child be deformed, or hath any bodily disteuiper, the father pities it: if God be our Father, be pities our weaknesses, and he so ])ities them as to heal them, Isa. Ivii. 18., " I have seen his ways, and will heal him." As God hath bowels to pity, so he hath bal- Bam to heal.
(2.) In case of injuries. Every blow of the child goes to the father's heart : when the saints suffer, God doth sympathize, Isa. Ixiii. 9,, " In all their afflictions he was af- flicted." He did, as it were, bleed in their wounds. " Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ?" When the foot was trod on, the head cried out, Jjudges x. 16. ; God's 6oid w;is grieved for the children of Israel. As when one string in a lute is touched, all the r<!st of the strings sound : when God's chihlren are stricken, his bowels sound, Zoch. ii. 8., " He that toueheth you, touch- fcth the appleof my eye."
4. If (iod be our Father, he will take no- tice of the least good he sees in us; if there
be but a sigh for sin, God bears it, Ps. xxxviii. 9., " My gnwining is not hid from thee." If there be but a penitential tear comes out of our eye, God sees it, Isa. xxxviii. 5., " I have J-een thy tears." If there be but a good intention, (iod takes notice, 1 Kii!gs viii. 18., " Whereas it was in thy heart to build an house to mv name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart." God punisheth intentioTial wickedness, and crowns intentional ijoodness, " Thou didst well that it was in thine heart." d'od takes notice of the least scinfil/n, the lejist spark of grace in his children, 1 Pet. iii. 6., "Sa- rah obeyed Abraham, calling him hrd ;" the Holy Ghost doth not mention Sarah's unbelief, or laughing at the promise, — he puts a finger upon the scar, winks at her failing, — and only takes Tn>tice of the good that was in her, her obedience t<) her hus- band; she "obeyed Abraham, calling him lord." Nay, that good which the saints scarce take notice of in themselves, God in a special manner observes, Mat. xxv. 35, 37., " I Avas an hungered and ye gave me meat, I was thirsty and ye gave me drink. Tlicn shall the righteous say, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered and fed thee?" They did as it were overlook an<l disclaim their own works of charity, yet Christ doth take notice, " I was an hungered and ye fed me." What c<»mfort is this ! (iod spies the least good in his children ; he can see a grain of corn hid under chaflf', grace hid under corruption.
5. If (lod be our Father, he will take all we do in good ])art. Those duties we our- selves censme, (iod will crown. When a child of (iod looks oAer his best duties, ho sees so much sin cleaving to them, that he is even confounded : " Lord," saith he, " there is more sulphur than incense in ray prayers." But for your comfort, if Ciod bo your Father, he Avill crown those duties Avliich you yourselves censure; God sees there is sincerity in the hearts of his chil- dren and this gold — though light — shall have grains of allowance ; though there may be d«'fects in the services of (iod's chil- dren, yet God will n«)t cast away their of- lering, 2 Chron. xxx. 20., " The Lord heal- ed tlie peojile." The trilws of Israel being straitened in time, Avanted some legal pu-
OF THE PREFACE TO THE LORD'S PRAYER,
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riflcations ; yet because tlieir hearts were right Ciod licaled tliem, lie pardoned them. God accepts of tlie good will, 2 Cor. viii. 12. A father takes a letter from his son kindly, though there arc blots or bad Eng- lish in it. What blottings are there in our holy things? Yet our Father in hea- ven accepts; saitli God, " It is my child, and ho will do better ; I will look uj)on him, through Christ, with a merciful eye."